Just hours after the 2013 Rugby League World Cup was awarded to the UK, following a two-day meeting in Singapore, the Rugby Football Union's bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup was rubber-stamped by the International Rugby Board council.

It was also agreed that Japan will stage the tournament in 2019.

The IRB council's vote of 16-10 in Dublin to back the double recommendation from Rugby World Cup Limited, the IRB subsidiary company that owns the rights associated with the tournament, was tighter than expected, with at least one of the 'big eight' countries thought to have changed their mind at the 11th hour and voted against the proposal that excluded rival candidates South Africa and Italy.

But there was no concealing the joy within the English camp, with RFU chief executive Francis Baron claiming the success of their bid – having been beaten to the 2007 tournament by France - was a red-letter day not just for English rugby, but also for the game across the British Isles.

The RFU predicts that the tournament will generate £300 million for the IRB, which relies on the tournament for 95 per cent of its income.

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On top of an £80 million tournament fee, the UK market is expected to produce a further £220 million in commercial returns from broadcasting, sponsorship and merchandising.

The RFU's only source of income from the tournament will be from ticket sales, which are estimated to be worth £195 million. With operating costs of around £93 million plus the host fee of £80 million, the RFU will be allowed to keep £15 million of any profit made, which it intends to invest entirely in community rugby.

"This is a massive day for us. We have been working very hard over the last year to put our bid together and we had fantastic support from the UK government," Baron said.

"We are very excited about the potential because we have plans to involve all the community game in all parts of England in our bid. We think we can do something special for the World Cup and our objective is to make it the best tournament yet.

"It is in everyone's interest that we maximise the impact and benefit of the World Cup in England for the benefit of rugby in the British Isles."

In that respect, RFU chairman Martyn Thomas was confident that the English bid had attracted support from the three other Home Unions, despite initial fears that Scotland would vote for South Africa after Murrayfield was overlooked as one of the venues.

"The [Scottish] reps had a meeting in Scotland last Thursday and they were given discretion to make their minds up," Thomas said. "They had a board meeting by telephone last night and I had another meeting with the SRU chief executive, Gordon McKie, at 7am this morning and he said they were going to support us."

Wales's support for the RFU was guaranteed by the inclusion of the Millennium Stadium as one of the 12 venues, with the promise of two quarter-finals and some pool matches.

But IRB chief executive Mike Millar warned that given their preference for the tournament to be played in one country, the proposal to play some games in the Welsh capital would have to be ratified by the council – and that may not happen before next March.

Thomas, who dismissed concerns that Old Trafford had not yet guaranteed its availability, unlike other football stadiums such as Wembley, Anfield, the Emirates Stadium and St James' Park, said the RFU was confident that the Millennium Stadium would be included.

"It was always made clear to us when we had the bid recommendation that we would have to accept the fact that all games would be played within the host union territory unless we were able to make a compelling reason to the Rugby World Cup board and we are now going to make that compelling case with respect to the use of the Millennium Stadium," Thomas insisted.

IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset congratulated all four bidding unions. "All the tenders were of a very high standard and each union demonstrated that they could host an excellent Rugby World Cup," he said. "It is a tribute to the health of the game and the enormous prestige of RWC that the competing bids were so strong.

"Both Italy and South Africa submitted extensive and compelling tenders. We believe that the succession of England and Japan as host nations for RWC will create new opportunities and help maximise commercial revenues for re-investment in the game.

"We are confident that England will deliver a spectacular tournament in 2015 and that Japan, as the first Rugby World Cup host nation in Asia, will mark the beginning of a very exciting chapter in the history of this great tournament."